First try with a flash difffuser

Hi all,

After a year and a bit of shooting macros with a naked speedlight, I've been having a bit of a play with a DIY diffuser the last couple of days. I've basically just cut a semicircle (the diameter of my lens hood) out of a white plastic plate, and then fastened it to the lens hood so that it is angled forward in front of the lens, and then I fire the flash onto this.

Here's a few test images. I'd be interested to hear what people think of these compared to say these images

Cheers,
Stephen

I sure can tell a difference, you only need to compare the eyes, the hot spots are controlled better.
That last shot is superb BTW!

Definite improvement. Lovely shots.

Fabulous shots, Stephen! These are very pleasing.

very nice set.

Great shots, Stephen. Did you shoot them all with the Tamron 90?

Big difference, great series, and love the last one.

looking good! you need to play with you flash compensation and you will get even better results

Looking good Houston.

Great result! esp. like the last one ; great angle and eye detail!

Looking good
Brian V.

Thanks very much for the encouraging comments everyone! Much appreciated. It's a bit harder to sneak up on the bugs with the diffuser in place, but the results are worth it.

Sgt, Mike wrote in post #15854436
Did you shoot them all with the Tamron 90?

Yes, they are all with the Tamron 90, Mike. I'm pretty happy with this little lens!

alquimista wrote in post #15854893
you need to play with you flash compensation and you will get even better results

Thanks for the suggestion, Andres. I used the flash on manual for these shots, but I guess I should set it on ETTL and use a bit of exposure comp...

Thanks again,

Cheers,
Stephen

Would love to see a pic of your DIY getup I'm considering making one also since I cannot afford to buy a nice ring flash :P

Just as simple as a plastic plate? Well these sir, are absolutely fantastic images. Wonderful lighting and colour.

Please post a photo of your camera with this diffuser. I understand how it would look but I'd really like to see to be sure plus it would give us an idea as to the size and angle. The detail rendered is sublime.

looking good... it's an improvement....